Writing in a personal capacity to share views, information and resources for teachers, trade unionists and campaigners in London - and beyond!

Monday, 29 May 2017

GE2017: Compare the manifesto pledges on school cuts

The campaigning work around school cuts has helped to make it a central issue in many voters' minds when they go to the polls on 8 June.

All of the main parties have had to respond by making some kind of pledge that they will act on school cuts. However, not all of those promises are quite what they seem. That's why it's worth checking out the facts on the updated school cuts website to see the impact on your local school. Here's mine:

Why the stark differences between Tory and Labour pledges?The Conservatives’ are only promising to give only £1 billion per year - but schools are facing a £3bn real terms cut in their annual funding by 2019-20 - and that's according to the National Audit Office, not the NUT or the political parties.

As the NUT said in response to the Conservative manifesto: “The
£1 billion promised does nothing at all
to cover the present crisis. Schools already need £2.2 billion more just
to cover the impact of inflation and cost increases imposed by the
Government since it was elected just two years ago. Class sizes will
still go up, school staff will be reduced, subjects will be dropped from
the curriculum, and school buildings will continue to fall into a state
of disrepair ... In contrast, the Liberal Democrats are pledging to put in that £3 billion per year and Labour £6.3 billion per year by 2020/21". Check the facts - and Vote for Education on 8 JuneIn an election where the facts are often being hidden under a cloud of partisan reporting from the mainstream media, it's worth taking a look on the schoolcuts website and sharing it with your friends and family. You can also use it to email your local candidates to ask them to respond.

Luckily, young people in particular are not so easily taken in - have a look at the reaction to this acceptance speech by the 'Prom King' at Sydenham/Forest Hill VI Form last week:

This NUT campaigns video also makes the reality clear:

Vote for education on 8 June !STOP PRESS: Help Get the message out in your streets:There has been so much support for the School Cuts campaign that the NUT has ordered extra copies of a newly designed leaflet to be delivered by volunteers in their local area. To order leaflets and/or to volunteer to organise leafleting, use this link:

Martin Powell-Davies

* Brought up as a socialist by parents who hungered for what is right * One adopted grandfather left me a double-barrelled name, the other his name on a 1926 General Strike black-list * Joined the Labour Party as a teenager, left it when it abandoned the values and traditions of so many who built it in the past * Given a comprehensive education at St.Andrew's, Leatherhead * First-class degree from King's College, Cambridge, for those who like that kind of thing * Secondary science teacher in London 1986-2015 * Lewisham NUT Secretary 1993-2015, organiser of many campaigns to defend teachers and education * Living in Sydenham since 1997, father of four who were all so well-supported by Sedgehill School * Member of the NUT National Executive 2010-15 * NUT London Regional Secretary 2016 - * Proud to have been name-checked by Gove for saying that his 'reforms' could make teaching unbearable * Member of the CWI, following its global struggles via http://www.socialistworld.net * Candidate for TUSC in Lewisham West & Penge, 2015 * Member of Penge CC, often a 'Middle Aged Man In Lycra' on Sundays